Pages tagged Countdown

Well, folks, it’s been quite a ride, and we actually are saying goodbye (we were just trying to put it off for a few more seconds). But worry not, you’re in for one magnificent substitute weekly publication from AAI. And if that doesn’t quench your Countdown thirst, don’t panic, we’ll be back before you know it. Presidential elections are our bat signal in the sky, and given that these campaigns now start literally years before the actual election, you can sleep tonight knowing that we’re practically just around the corner. Until then, stay politically active and keep the Arab American community strong.

Spontaneous collective laughter broke out in the Palestinian territories when they heard that apartheid and fake endless negotiations were mentioned in the context of standing up for Israel against its enemies, in what Israeli security officials initially thought was an explosion in a laughing-gas factory. After a few minutes, the laughing died down when the Palestinians realized, on second thought, how unfunny that really is, especially after the release of this disheartening poll on Israeli public opinion, which ran in one of Israel’s leading newspapers under the headline “Survey: Most Israeli Jews would support apartheid regime in Israel.”

Whether you loved it or hated it, thought it was necessary or unjustifiably rude, the story of the debate was definitely how Vice-President Biden aggressively handled Congressman Paul Ryan, with “that’s a bunch of malarkey” and “oh, now you’re Jack Kennedy!” zingers. But the real winner of the vice-presidential debate wasn’t Biden, or Ryan, or the entertained audience, but debate moderator Martha Raddatz who was gaining 1,000 Twitter followers per minute during a good part of the debate for a superb performance; demanding specifics and calling out nonsense from the VP candidates.

Well, things just got confusing: according to a new poll, Allen West hasn’t only managed to close the 9 point gap in just a week, but is now ahead of his opponent by 12 points. Ok now, either the pollsters are messing with us, or Florida’s 22nd District is home to the most capricious set of voters in the country (we’re ruling out the “bad polling” explanation because it’s too plausible and not funny enough).

The law, which requires voters to present a photo ID at the polls, was initially upheld in a ruling that cited a legal precedent, from 1869, which advocated implementing a discriminatory registration process in order to avoid placing “the vicious vagrant, the wandering Arabs, the Tartar hordes of our large cities, on a level with the virtuous and good man” (we’re not kidding).

By the way, does Romney know that the Republican Party platform says that it “envision[s] two democratic states” as the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Way to go undermining the Party platform, Mitt.

Greetings from Tampa, where the Republican National Convention just wrapped up. This is a special RNC edition of Countdown, which we built ourselves with very hard work and no one can take it from us (but you can still read it). Enjoy!